This page offers the basic cultivation techniques and information on the economics of log grown shiitake enterprises.
While you might come across one of 10,000 fruiting mushrooms in the Eastern Forest, only a handful can be cultivated reliably. These are the decomposing fungi that can be grown on logs, stumps, woodchips, and in vegetable production beds.
Species include Shiitake (Lentinula edodes), Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus), Lions Mane (Hericium spp.), Red Wine Cap (Stropharia Rugosa-annulata), Almond Agaricus (Agaricus subrufescens), and Nameko (Pholiota nameko).
| Mushroom Species | Shiitake | Oyster | Lions Mane | Wine Cap | Almond Agaricus | Nameko |
| Wood Species | Oak, Sugar Maple, Beech, Birch, Chesnut, Sweet Gum, others | Poplar, Tulip Poplar, Willow, Box Elder | Beech, Sugar Maple | Mixed hardwood chips | Mature Compost | Black Cherry, Sugar Maple |
| Preferred Methods | Bolts | Bolts, Stumps | Stumps | Beds | Beds | Bolts |
Each mushroom has its own preferred species of wood and method for successful cultivation. ONLY log shiitake can be reliably cultivated outdoors as a commercial crop, though other species can offer supplemental income when they fruit.
Reliable fruiting of other species for commercial sales is most often done in indoor cultivation systems. Read on more to meet the Mushrooms!
